Senator Grove with advocates at the SB 1414 press conference prior to the bill hearing. Click here for a high-resolution photo. Click here for video of the press conference.
Today, the Senate Public Safety Committee forced hostile amendments on Senator Shannon Grove and passed her bill, Senate Bill 1414 (SB 1414) out of committee without her consent.
Senator Grove presented SB 1414 which seeks to strengthen protections for minor victims by making the act of soliciting, agreeing to engage in or engaging in any form of commercial sex with a child a felony offense, with sex offender registry required on repeat offenses. SB 1414 is a bipartisan measure, joint authored by Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced) and Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), and co-sponsored by Love Never Fails and 3Strands Global Foundation.
Instead of voting on Senator Grove’s bill as proposed, members of the committee instead forced hostile amendments and voted the bill out of committee without Senator Grove’s consent. Now, instead of making the purchase of all children a felony, the committee has made the solicitation or purchase of children for sex punishable by a wobbler, which can still be charged as a misdemeanor, punishable by as little as 2 days in jail or up to a $10,000 fine.
A felony can only be charged if the child solicited or purchased was 15 years old or younger, and unfortunately, the buyer would still be ineligible for prison. If a buyer has a previous conviction of purchasing a child under 16 years old and is convicted on a second offense of buying child under 16 years old and the victim and buyer are more than 10 years apart in age, only then would the buyer have to register as a tier one sex offender (10-years).
“I’m incredibly disappointed that not only did my colleagues reject my proposal to make the buying of children for sex a prison felony, but that I was blindsided when they amended my bill without my consent," said Senator Grove.
“Children of all ages deserve to be protected under the law and a simple fine after buying a child for sex is not an appropriate punishment. Californians across the state have made their voices heard and they want this law changed. Unfortunately, the members of the public safety committee continue their soft on crime approach at the expense of California’s most vulnerable, our children," concluded Senator Grove.
Senator Grove is actively discussing the next steps with her joint authors, coalition of survivors and advocates who are deeply invested in the outcome of this bill. She is committed to continuing the fight for all victims and survivors of sexual exploitation.